A. Ed Annunziata

A. Just turned 39 =o

A. Near San Francisco, on the coast.

A. Married with one daughter.

A. Yes, I'm a game developer.

A. I don't understand this question.

A. It was really arbitrary - we will make Smallball games with all team sports - we had to chose one first. But as I got to know Baseball - I fell in love with it.

A. Yes, I try to train them but I never have time. I'd like to recruit an assistant or partner to train them with/for me. I don't want to just give them away because I really love them. Eventually someone else will play the role of the Commish. At that time I plan to really enjoy my team.

A. I knew I didn't have the time to play the game as a player. I did start other teams along the way but mostly for testing. My original team is the New York 9. The id is #1 - They are 6 stars, and almost exclusively "passive trained." They get challenged a lot. Probably because they have an id of 1. While I'm at it: Thanks to all who played them! You literally made them who they are!

A. The other 998 slots are reserved. I'm not sure for what yet.

A. I prefer being ED.

A. Our goal is to keep it FREE and sell additional products and services. Like the deluxe trainer for example. SmallBall is not just a game, it's a hobby.

A. No, it was a simple bug. But it was kind of like a social bug. Since it helped improve one's team, no one said anything so it stuck around. I found it very interesting because this is my first community based game. I am learning so much from this experience. Its unfortunate that some folks felt slighted by this whole mess.

A. I delete them if they're really mean. It's the best I could do for now. In the future the message board and chat will be integrated with the game. Then it will be much easier to control. But, don't get me wrong. This is a competitive game... I expect there to be some adversarial posts. And I don't really mind them... In fact some are really funny. But there is line that shouldn't be crossed. "I'll kick your butt" posts are fine in the context of the game, but hateful posts are not and will be deleted.

A. We have SO many. Too many actually... I have to spend a lot of thought about order of implementation. What to do and in what order. And you owners keep making great suggestions. The truth is it will be years before we can implement even a fraction of the ideas that SmallBall inspires. But that's ok I think (hope.) There is lots of room for improvement. That's why we always say "SmallBall will never be done and will always evolve"

A. You seem very nice. I really like your ambition and your tenacity. I always image you wearing a fedora - with a card that says "Press Pass" sticking out of it. Like the old newspaper reporters trying to get the scoop.

A. I love the forum. Its so human. It represents us in many ways. It has its light and dark sides, its funny and sad sometimes, it gets angry sometimes, then it gets happy again. Its like a big amorphous human. And we who post to it make up its personality. It inspires me, guides me, scares me... I wish I had more time to participate in the forum.

A. Enormously! When we make an update the first thing I do is go to the forum. I sit there and press F5 again and again, watching the posts... Many times the forum helps us to fix problems quickly.

A. I get annoyed sometimes I must admit. When I read angry insulting posts - I hate tantrums and feet stomping! And I cannot stand augments that are fueled by the fact that they are public. And, its true, my feelings get hurt when I am accused of being evil or corrupt. As if I spent all this time and effort to make a game just so I could cheat at it. I get accused of not caring sometimes and this bewilders me. But as time marches on, I am learning to ignore that stuff. My skin is getting thicker J And, lately things seem to be much better.

A. I am happy but its frustrating because it's developing SO slowly. Evolution takes time but mustering the patience needed is a challenge.

A. Absolutely. We are working hard on this - developing tools for "league owners" We got a lot of feedback on what we should do. I think the future "commissioners" will be very happy with what we will provide them. But, I should say, the "League Owner Kit" will not be free.

A. About 30 and growing. Everyone here is amazing. We all have a passion for two things: Games and originality. If you want to see more of the kind of games and worlds we make check out www.andnow.net (that's net, not com, net!)

A. In the immortal words of Ed Norton, "That's the surprise! There is no surprise!!!" Just kidding... the current surprises are surprises if, and only if, we can pull them off.

A. Italian. You know the saying you are what you eat? Well say hello to Pasta Annunziata!

Q. What more do you want out of SmallBall other than game improvements?

A. I'm a dreamer... I want smallball to live on for over 100 years. Like real baseball. I want the game to LIVE on beyond me. And I want your teams to live on beyond you. I want, someday, someone to look back at all our teams with affection and respect. I want smallball to make history.

A. The San Francisco Giants. I think Barry Bonds has a SmallBall team, BTW. :)

A. That's a really hard question... There are many that I love..(hell, I love 'em all!) but If I had to pick only one I'd say, Motown Drive

A. Me.

Q. Was this interview fun for you?

A. as fun as a barrel of monkeys! God Bless America and all of Humanity!

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